Rotary engine.



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G. F. BURTON. ROTARY ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 23,1907.'

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G. F. BURTON.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 23,1907.

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ROTARY ENGINE. `A1?PLIGATION FILED. MAY 23? 1907- 7 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

y NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CrEORGE F. BURTON, OF WOODLAWN, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO LEROY A. CHRISTIAN ANDONE-FOURTH TO CHARLES W. CRAM, BOTH OF WOODLAWN,ALABAMA.

ROTARY ENGINE Specification of Letters Patent.

l'atentod Feb. 25, 1908.

Application tiled May 23. 1907. Serial No. 375,257.

To all whom it may concern):

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. BURTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Woodlawn, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in rotary engines driven by steam,compressed air, or other fluid-pressure, in which there is a continuoustorque maintained on the shaft and in which the valve mechanism is ofeX- tremely simple type and the wear and tear on the parts is reduced toa very small amount.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown theinvention asl applied to atwocyl inder direct-'acting rotary engine, in which each cylinder issupplied with live ste am from a common supply-pipe.

Heretofore, I have obtained Letters Patent No. 848,440, dated March 26,1907, and the object of my invention is to improve on the inventiondisclosed in said patent, by providing a different form of piston, whichis easier and more cheaply made than the piston in my patent aforesaid,which. gives me an increased leverage as the same revolves and while thesteam is being` used eXpansively, which enables me to simplify thepacking of the parts and to thereby render said packing more certain inoperation than in my former patent, and which further enables me toplace the packing boXes on each side of the piston closer together, and,therefore, to cause the one in the rear of the piston to close beforethe one in front of the piston opens, and thereby to prevent the steamin the clearance chamber from being exhausted. And, again, since themean effective pressure acts at an increased leverage as the pistonrevolves, and while the steam is being used eXpansively, I get anincreased horse power over my former patent for the same amount of steamconsumed.

A further object of my invention is to omit the clearance space betweenthe outer and inner shells of my said former patent, and thereby toavoid the loss of steam power which said space entailed.

A further object of my invention is to provide a simple valve mechanismpermit-- tingthe steam to be used eXpansively, and controlled by agovernor and also lby a handlever. In this mechanism the governor actsautomatically to cut 0H and admit steam according to the load carried,and should the engine stop from an over-load or other cause, the handlever would be used to open the valve and start it again.

My invention further consists in the combination of parts hereinafterdescribed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspeciicationz-Figure l represents a side elevation of my engine, thesteam-pipe and shaftbeing broken away and parts of the governor beingomitted. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of my engine, showingthe pistons in elevation. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view throughone of the cylinders, showing the valve, the shaft, the piston and itsconnection with the disk in section and the disk itself partly insection. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the position ofthe parts after the piston has moved through an angle of about 180degrees. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the hollow valve.Fig. 6 is a similar view of the shaft. Fig. 7 a transverse sectionalview of the shaft and valve, showing their respective ports in register,and Fig. S, a similar view showing the ports after the shaft has turned18.0 degrees. Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the piston and itssplit cylindrical pivot de* tached. Fig. 10 is a view showing one of thehalves of said pivot formed of two parts slidably connected together.

showing their operating springs. Fig. 12, a plan of the same, and Fig.18, an end elevation of said blocks. Fig. 14 is a transverse Asectionalview through the exhauspipe J1 Fig. 11 is a detachable view of a pair ofpacking-blocks,

Through said bearings extends the hollow driving-shaft C, provided withthe openings or ports D, as shown, and through the said shaft andconcentric therewith extends the hollow tubular valve E, provided withthe ports F adapted to register with the ports D in the shaft C.

Keyed, or otherwise secured to the shaft C, are the disks F, which arechainbered at G and provided with the live steam port I and exhaust portH, as shown. .Each of these disks F carries a piston J, slidingly andpivotally secured to its disk by the cylindrical pivot through thecenter of which said piston passes, as shown. Cavities L, of suitabledimensions, are provided in each disk to accommodate the inner ends ofthe pistons, which ends are curved to fit corresponding swells M on thehubs of their respective disks, as shown, The disks are furthermore eachprovided with the radially sliding packing-blocks N around itsperiphery, and each block consists of the flanged platesv O and Plongitudinally and slidingly connected by the plate Q. Suitable passagesB are provided in the body `of the disks to admit steam behind theblocks N and thereby balancethe'pressure of the steam on the outer edgesof the same. Suitable springs S are also provided, as shown, to pressthe blocks radially and longitudinally outward.

T represents packing-rings,A one 'on each side of each disk, againstwhich the anges of the plates C, P, bear, and against which the springspress longitudinally, as shown. Said rings are cut away, of course, soas to permit the outer radial surface of the blocks to come flush withtheir own surfaces, and to thereby form a tight packing-joint with theflat face of the ends of the cylinder. The pistons Jare also rigidlyfastened at their outer ends to the revolving cylinders. U, having theperforated flanged end disks V bolted or otherwise fastened to saidcylinders U. The flanges W of these disks Yfit concentrically andexteriorily the bearings B, but said `flanges and bearings B areeccentric to the shaft C, so that the shaft C is j ournaled concentricto the disks and eccentric to the cylinders on the interior of saidbearings B, all as clearly shown in the drawings. The said bearings Bare also provided with curved or turned-over lips X, which overhang theends of said flanges W, and thereby catch any oil that may be thrown offby centrifugal force from said bearings.

To keep the parts thoroughly lubricated, I provide an oil reservoir Y,in which is pivoted a weighted roller Z, which bears upon and feeds oilto the shaft C, as shown.

At one end of the shaft C I secure a friction or other bevel gear A,which engages a corresponding bevel gear B keyed to the vertical shaft Cwhich carries the centrifugal ballgovernor mechanism shown and whichconsists of the yoked bearings C, D and the top bearing E. Said topbearing has pivoted thereto the centrifugal, weighted bell crank leversF, which are connected to the bearing D by the links G, and the bearingC has pivoted thereto the lever II, which in turn is connected to thelink E', as shown.

A is a casting supporting the governor. Loosely attachedto the valve Eis a weighted crank arm D, under the control of the governor through thelink connection E. The crank arm D is so connected to the valve E,through the lever F, as will appear below, that when the engine isrunning too fast, the centrifugal force will spread the balls of thegovernor and rotate the valve E, thereby cutting off the steam, and whenthe engine is running too slow, the balls will close, thereby openingthe valve ports by rotating the valve in an opposite direction, all asis well known and which needs no further description herein.

As will be seen from Fig. 1 of the drawings, the weighted crank arm D issecured to the valve E, and also in a slot rovided in the lower end oflink E', there leing a bend as shown in said arm between the said valveand said link, in order to more effectually clear the hand lever F,which projects beyond the link E as shown in Fig. 16. The connectionbetween the valve and crank D, above referred to, is by means of thelock hand lever F, rigidly secured to the valve E, and provided with thepivotal locking lever G which normally locks the said lever F. to theweighted governor-controlled lever D. The valve E is provided withbearings I-I at each end thereof, and also with packing-rings I whichfit steam-tight the interior of shaft C. Its end is closed by a screwplug, as shown. The construction it will be seen is such that if thehand lever F be unlocked from the crank D, the valve maybe turned byhand to the open or to the closed position, and when it is again lockedto said crank D, the same 4movements may be obtained through the actionof the governor alone, as above stated.

K represents a live steam pipe suitably connected with valve E in anydesired manner, as for example by the packing box and loose threadconnection shown in Fig. 2, and J represents the exhaust pipe.

L represents small longitudinal packingblocks placed on each side of thesteam ports inv valve E, and M, counter balancing weights cast on, orotherwise attached to, the cylinders U.

The operation of my engine is as follows Steam enters the pipe K, passesto the ports F in the valve E, through the same and the ports D in theshaft C to the passage I in the disk F, and behind the piston J. Thedisk being concentric with the shaft C and the cylinder eccentric, asstated above, the pressure of the steam against the piston will causethe cylinder to turn on its bearings, and since the disk and piston areattached thereto, they likewise rotateA with the cylinder. The piston,however, being slidingly and pivotally attached to the disk,vslidesoutward as the cylinder revolves, and thereby increases the leverageagainst which the mean effective pressure of the steam acts. Thisfeature is especially important when using steam eX- pansively, which Icontemplate doing, for I may, as shown in the Figs. 3 and 4, only eX-tend my valve ports about 90o, and therefore as the disk revolves thesteam will be automatically cut off after following the piston aboutone-fourth of a revolution. As the parts revolve from the position shownin Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig, 4, the packing-blocks N continuallycontact with and leave the inner surface of the cylinder, but one ormore of the same is always in contact therewith to form an effectualbarrier against the escape of live steam into the space on the oppositeside of the piston. These same boXes, situated all around the peripheryof the disks as well asthe rings T, snuglyiit against the end disks V ofthe cylinders at all times, and thereby prevent any escape of the steamon the sides of the revolving disks. In order to prevent any steam fromescaping through and around the pivot K, that half of the same whichcomes on the live-steam side of the piston is made in two parts K2 andK3, as shown in Fig. 10, anda spring constantly presses these partsoutward against the cylinder ends V. As the piston continues to revolvefrom the position shown in Fig. 4 on around to the initial positionshown in Fig. 3, the space for the exhaust steam, between the disk andcylinder, continues to get less and finally becomes zero, just beforethe position in Fig. 3 is reached. The packing-boxes N next to thepiston, and immediately on each side of the same, can be, and are, withthis construction placedso close together that the one in the rear ofthe piston closes steam tight before the one in the front of the pistonopens, and thereby the steam in the clearance chamber is prevented frombeing exhausted.

While the engine is performing work, the governor acts to open and closethe valve, as is usual in engines of this character, but, in addition tothis, should the enginestop while using the steam eXpansively, from anoverload or other cause, the hand-lever F may be used at once to rotatethe valve sufficiently to admit live steam behind the piston, andthereby start the engine. After the engine starts the hand-lever isrotated into position to lock with the governor crank arm D, and thegovernor-acts as before. As the parts revolve, the weighted rollers inthe oil reservoi-rs V convey oil to the shaft and the same finds its'wayto the parts in the usual manner. W are small packing-rings on theiianges 'W of the cylinder ends or disks V, in order to prevent theescape of steam past the cylinder bearings, and M are weighted counterbalancing projections cast, on, or otherwise attached to the cylinder U.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have entirely done away withthe outside shell of my former patent and its attendant loss of steambetween the same and the casing 5 that by employing a governor I causethe steam to be automatically cut off or admitted, according to the loadcarried, and thereby am enabled to make this engine run moresmoothlythan the engine of my said patent, and at the same time create atendency toward a more constant torque, with an exceedingly simplemechanism. Furthermore, by having but one piston in each cylinder andsteam being cut oif automatically, I am enabled to get a wide range ofeXpansion, and at the same time to get a positive pressure on eachpiston, and at right angles to the shaft, throughout about iive-sixthsof its revolution. The pressure on my packingboxes being balanced as setforth above, the same are under the 'control of the springs andtherefore, the tightness of the packing, as welll as their friction, isunder complete contro My oil chamber and roller is so simple that itpractically requires no attention, and all the parts of the engineare'so shaped that they may be readily machined, assembled anddisassembled, thereby making the same easy of production and easy totake out or replace when repairs are necessary.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. In a rotary engine, the combination of a shaft, adisk secured concentric thereto and provided with the live steam port Ileading from its center, a cylinder eccentric to said shaft and a pistonrigidly attached to one of said parts and pivotally and slidinglyattached to the other, substantially as described.

2. In a rotary engine, the combination of a revolving shaft, a diskrigidly secured concentric thereto and provided With a live steam portleading from its center to its circumference, a revolving cylindereccentrically disposed relative to said shaft, and a piston rigidlyattached to one of said parts and movably attached to the other,substantially as described.

3. In a rotary engine, the combination of a shaft a revolving disksecured concentric thereto and provided with a live steam port leadingfrom its center to its circumference, a revolving cylinder havingbearings eccentric to said shaft, and a piston slidingly and pivotallysecured to said disk and rigidly secured to said cylinder, substantiallyas described.

4. In a rotary engine, the combination of a revolving shaft, a revolvingdisk secured concentric to said shaft yand provided with an admissionport leading from its center and an exhaust port leading from itscircumference, a revolving cylinder eccentric to said shaft and a pistonsecured to said disk and to said cylinder, substantially as described.

5. In a rotary engine, the combination of a revolving' shaft providedwith a steam port, a revolving disk rigidly and concentrically attachedthereto, andjprovided with an exhaust port, a revolving cylindereccentrically disposed with relation to said shaft and a piston rigidlyattached to said cylinder and slidingly and pivotally attached to saiddisk, substantially as described.

6. In a rotary en ine, the combination of a hollow shaft, a diskconcentric therewith, a cylinder eccentric thereto, a piston rigidlyconnected to said cylinder and also connected to said disk, a valvedisposed in said shaft and a governor for said valve, substantially asdescribed.

7. In a rotary engine, the combination of a hollow shaft, a rotary diskconcentric therewith, a rotary cylinder eccentric thereito, a pistonrigidly connected to said cylinder and slidingly connected to said disk,a rotary valve disposed in said shaft and a governor for said valve,substantially as described.

S. In a rotary engine, the combination of a hollow shaft, a rotary valvedisposed therein, a disk concentricto said shaft, a cylinder eccentricto said shaft, a piston attached to said disk and cylinder, a governormechanism for said valve, and means whereby said valve may be operatedby hand independently of said governor,substantially as described.

9. In a rotary engine, the combination of a hollow shaft, a rotary valvedisposed therein, a disk concentric to said shaft, a cylinder, a pistonattached to said disk and cylinder, a governor mechanism for said valve,and a hand lever whereby said valve may be operated by handindependently of said governor, substantially as described.

10. In a rotary engine, the combination of a hollow shaft, a rotaryvalve disposed therein, a disk concentric to said shaft, a cylindereccentric to said shaft, a piston attached to said disk and cylinder, agovernor mechanism for said valve, and a hand lever adapted to engageanddisengage said governor mechanism whereby said valve may be operatedby hand independently of said governor, substantially as described.

11. In a rotary engine, the combination of a shaft, a disk concentricthereto, a rotatable cylinder eccentric to the same, a piston connectingsaid cylinder and disk, and said disk being provided with balancedpacking boxes around its periphery, substantially as described.

12. In a rotary engine, the combination of a shaft, a disk concentricthereto, a cylinder eccentric to the same, a piston connected to saiddisk and cylinder and said disk being provided with balanced packingboxes consisting of two plates slidably attached to each other andhaving actuating springs for pressing the same outward, substantially asdescribed.

13. In a rotary engine, the combination of a shaft, a disk concentricthereto, a counterbalanced cylinder eccentric to the same, a pistonconnected to said disk and cylinder, said disk being provided withbalanced packing boxes consisting of two plates slidably attached toeach other and having actuating springs for pressing the same outward, avalve and a governor mechanism controlling the same, substantially asdescribed.

14. In a rotary engine,I the combination of a hollow shaft, a disIconcentric therewith, a cylinder eccentric thereto, a piston rigidlyattached to said cylinder, and provided with a split cylindrical pivotslidingly and pivotally connecting the same with said disk, said pivothaving one of its halves made in two parts slidingly connected together,and said disk provided with balanced packing boxes around its periphery,a hollow valve in said shaft, and a governor mechanism controlling saidvalve, substantially as described.

15. In a rotary engine, the combination of a hollow shaft, a diskconcentric therewith, a cylinder eccentric thereto, a piston rigidlyattached to said cylinder, and provided with a split cylindrical pivotslidingly and pivotally connecting the same with said disk, said pivothaving one of its halves made in two parts slidingly connected together,and said disk provided with balanced packing boxes around its periphery,a hollow valve in said shaft, and a governor mechanism controlling saidvalve, and a hand mechanism for operating said valve independently ofsaid governor mechanism, substantially as described.

16. In a rotary engine the combination of a hollow shaft, a valvelocated therein, a disk, a cylinder, a piston rigidly attached to saidcylinder and pivotally and slidably attached to said disk, bearings forsaid shaft, an oil reservoir, and means in the same for contacting withsaid shaft and thereby causing the parts to be lubricated, substantiallyas described.

17. In a rotary engine, the combination of a shaft, a disk having a livesteam port leading from its center and provided with a clearance and anexhaust port space concentric therewith, a cylinder eccentric thereto, apiston connected to both said cylinder and disk, and means whereby thesteam in the said clearance space is prevented from escaping into saidexhaust port, immediately before live steam is admitted to saidcylinder, substantially as described.

IIO

18. In a rotary engine, the combination of a shaft, a cylinder eccentricthereto, a disk,

a piston rigidly attached to said cylinder,

a valve controlling the admission of steam to said cylinder, a. governorfor said valve, a hand-lever and means to connect and disconnect thesame from said governor, Whereby the valve may be operated eitherantomatically through Said governor or by hand independently thereof,substantially as de- 10 scribed.

In testimony whereof, l aHX Iny signature, in presence of tWo Witnesses.

GEORGE F. BURTON.

Witnesses:

W. J. WALDRO?, H. L. VINES.

